Why must everyone feel that they are playing a demolition derby? I know the games don't regulate blocking, but hell! There is blocking and there is running others off the circuit. I am fine with you acting like Hamilton. Or Senna. That is proper aggressive driving. But when you decide to brake 50 yards later than the car 10 yards in front of you, it becomes a problem. Usually in taking me out, you take the two people behind you when you get back on the track.

Or when you spin out. Not sure how you can spin in F1 2010, but I see it happen, please, for the love of this puppy

drive smart. You do on the road (I hope). It's called situational awareness. If the guy in front of spins out, like mentioned, don't immediately spin the car on the circuit if someone is coming into that area. I don't want to make it through the chicane in Catalunya to be caught with a car facing the wrong direction trying to turn himself around.

And please, if you do spin someone out, fine. In certain circumstances it's acceptable. I have a half a lap rule. If you are being blocked for more than half a lap, it is completely acceptable to go all Paul Tracy on the person and put him into the kitty litter.

I know little kids play the game. But shouldn't even they be able to be someone competent in the game?

Sorry for rant. Couldn't get through a single race today without someone playing old person and forgetting to brake, or keep straight on the front straight of Monza. Monza!

I'm guessing you've only just started playing racing games online. Unless you join a league or find a site with organised events then you'll just have to get used to it i'm afraid.

Yes and no. New as of late. Took a few years off of counsel games (last time I played a counsel online was TOCA 3 on Xbox), but spent the last couple years playing rFactor. But without investing in a wheel, me and my gamepad were always just a bit slower than the field. But my switch to a Mac ended the PC racing, probably for the better. Was fed up trying to find the right track and right update of cars to actually race too.

There are idiots of all kinds in every online racing game--this is why I don't ever waste my time with Forza Motorsport or F1 2010. You can run a decent race, but somebody's going to get the red mist and punt you off eventually, simply because they'd rather see you lose than win themselves. On sim-style racers, the punishing you take from this is often too severe to come back from in a single race. I don't have the patience to put up with it, so I only play online with friends.

You get the same kind of idiots on Mario Kart, too--the ones who save their power items just for you (stopping on the road to repeatedly hit you if need be), the ones that swerve to crash into you and intentionally cause a collision whenever you draw near them, and the ones that vote to race the same track over and over again if they know it disadvantages your vehicle of choice. There are soreheads on every racing game, unfortunately.

I always try to be extra polite when I race online--I try leave plenty of room for a pass when I'm under attack, I choose tracks that my preferred vehicle doesn't get a competition-killing advantage at (though I'm not often in the fastest vehicle in any game anyway), and overall, I try not to screw other people's races up too much with items/bad moves/unnecessary collisions/what-have-you. Show some disrespect, though, and I might decide to fight back...

I always try to be extra polite when I race online--I try leave plenty of room for a pass when I'm under attack, I choose tracks that my preferred vehicle doesn't get a competition-killing advantage at (though I'm not often in the fastest vehicle in any game anyway), and overall, I try not to screw other people's races up too much with items/bad moves/unnecessary collisions/what-have-you. Show some disrespect, though, and I might decide to fight back...

I was the same, but I am now that ugly mutant child of Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, who happened to be raise by Charles Manson.

spent the last couple years playing rFactor. But without investing in a wheel, me and my gamepad were always just a bit slower than the field. But my switch to a Mac ended the PC racing, probably for the better.

Why would a switch to the Mac end your pc racing?

I'm running several pc race sims - including GTR2 and rFactor - directly in Mac OS X right now. (Using a usb gamepad, though, since after my years of online GPL I don't race online atm, more casually now).

Apart from that, though, if you're using a console I guess it's just unavoidable to find you're racing against online Neanderthals and wreckers. Consoles are largely made for kids, so... and even in the more serious sims like GPL or iRacing there's still plenty of dumb moves in the lower leagues. Personally, though, I was a hard*ss on the track, if anyone bumped me off they'd soon find themselves in the virtual scenery to make it very clear that not everyone takes bumper car racing for granted. And I hardly let anyone pass without a fight. But once you found a real hole to dive past, I wouldn't punt you off either.

It depends on the sim, the league and finding the right crowd, though. Guess it's in the niche pockets that the real clean racing takes place. (Hey, with a generation raised on Need for Speed and dumb AI, what could we expect? )

I certainly don't approve of wrecking people and such. But, sometimes I feel some players are taking the etiquette thing a bit to serious and accuse people of blocking as soon as there are some halfway aggressive defending going on. The fun part of online racing for for me is about RACING other people, preferably in aggressive and close fights without crashing. Some tend to think that faster drivers that didn't bother with qualifying should get to just drive by because they may be a second a lap or so quicker per lap.

I certainly don't approve of wrecking people and such. But, sometimes I feel some players are taking the etiquette thing a bit to serious and accuse people of blocking as soon as there are some halfway aggressive defending going on. The fun part of online racing for for me is about RACING other people, preferably in aggressive and close fights without crashing. Some tend to think that faster drivers that didn't bother with qualifying should get to just drive by because they may be a second a lap or so quicker per lap.

That's what I enjoy too, but my complaint, and the complaint of all, is that you'll think your racing close and clean with someone, but then when you get a good run out of a corner and try to pass on the next, he takes you out. He drives down into you on the corner, spinning you out.

the most annoying thing is that no matter whether im brake tested, rammed from behind or side swiped, i always seem to be the one who ends up spinning or crawling thru a gravel trap while they get away scot free.

the most annoying thing is that no matter whether im brake tested, rammed from behind or side swiped, i always seem to be the one who ends up spinning or crawling thru a gravel trap while they get away scot free.

This.

Same goes for starts. I'm ALWAYS the one who gets stuck in the gravel at the start, whilst the culprits somehow manage to get away with it...

the most annoying thing is that no matter whether im brake tested, rammed from behind or side swiped, i always seem to be the one who ends up spinning or crawling thru a gravel trap while they get away scot free.

I recall one time, I get taken out. The same happens, and when I decided to seek revenge, who ends up in the gravel trap again? I, of course. I hit him square in Bruxelles at Spa, and he continued his normal pace.

In F1 2010 I opened up a hosted a room that ran with full damage on. The first race I get 9 people. Only 2 people finished. Most were taken out in turn 1. Second race say only me, the guy who finished the 1st race with me, and another guy who joined after the first race. We ran a 3 car race, and the new guy took us all out in turn 1 at Suzuka.

That also brings up the question, If you know the first corner is going to take half the field out, why not vote for another circuit. But then again, even at Silverstone, where T1 is a pretty safe corner, people manage to crash and take 3-4 guys with him to the gravel trap.

I recall one time, I get taken out. The same happens, and when I decided to seek revenge, who ends up in the gravel trap again? I, of course. I hit him square in Bruxelles at Spa, and he continued his normal pace.

In F1 2010 I opened up a hosted a room that ran with full damage on. The first race I get 9 people. Only 2 people finished. Most were taken out in turn 1. Second race say only me, the guy who finished the 1st race with me, and another guy who joined after the first race. We ran a 3 car race, and the new guy took us all out in turn 1 at Suzuka.

That also brings up the question, If you know the first corner is going to take half the field out, why not vote for another circuit. But then again, even at Silverstone, where T1 is a pretty safe corner, people manage to crash and take 3-4 guys with him to the gravel trap.

i hate going in into the first corner in f12010 but when i play GT5 shuffle races with fair people i had 1 first corner accident in about 15 races. it affects the way you take the corner when you play certain games because you are busy looking behind to make sure you dont get hit, thats why i kick people if they be like that, i have had better online experiences with GT5 compared to f12010 though when you get a fair field i can be happy finishing last knowing that no one has taken anyone out and everyone played fair but those races are few and far between

Yes and no. New as of late. Took a few years off of counsel games (last time I played a counsel online was TOCA 3 on Xbox), but spent the last couple years playing rFactor. But without investing in a wheel, me and my gamepad were always just a bit slower than the field. But my switch to a Mac ended the PC racing, probably for the better. Was fed up trying to find the right track and right update of cars to actually race too.

I just play F1 2010 and I´ve no big problem with crash boys. There are two different kinds:

- People who can more or less drive but lacks awareness about when to pass or yield. These are easy to handle most of time. If they are behind you, brake as late as you can and you´ll hear them brake even later... let that smoking thing through, turn in, and you´re ready to go. If they´re ahead, don´t get desperate. They´ll go off sooner or later, and if they don´t ,it´s still easy to get alongside. Repeat that late braking, they´ll try to brake even later, and good bye. Never get alongside in the middle of a long corner: they don´t know where other cars are, and they use all the track even if there´s other people there. Racing this guys will make you develop a healthy habit: check your mirrors VERY often.

-Morons who are there to crash. Easy to spot them. When the red lights secuence start, you´ll see them turning the wheel from lock to lock for no aparent reason. Just stay away from them in turn 1, you wont see them again.

Anyway a qualifying session will keep these guys away.

I don´t know why, but the better I get, the less problems I get with this guys. Now I find easy to know if I´m racing a guy I can trust after a couple of corners watching him.

It must be a great feeling starting a race knowing you can trust the full grid... console players will never get that I´m afraid.

I just play F1 2010 and I´ve no big problem with crash boys. There are two different kinds:

"Crash kids", you mean.

- People who can more or less drive but lacks awareness about when to pass or yield. These are easy to handle most of time. If they are behind you, brake as late as you can and you´ll hear them brake even later... let that smoking thing through, turn in, and you´re ready to go. If they´re ahead, don´t get desperate. They´ll go off sooner or later, and if they don´t ,it´s still easy to get alongside. Repeat that late braking, they´ll try to brake even later, and good bye. Never get alongside in the middle of a long corner: they don´t know where other cars are, and they use all the track even if there´s other people there. Racing this guys will make you develop a healthy habit: check your mirrors VERY often.

I cannot understate how useful the rearview mirror function is in any racing game. If you using the mirrors will allow you to see a car behind you, use them. I only ignore my mirrors when everyone else is so far behind that I can't see them--otherwise, it's useful to know what your opponents are up to even behind you. Watching one of them overshoot a braking zone could translate into the knowledge of a psychological advantage.

-Morons who are there to crash. Easy to spot them. When the red lights secuence start, you´ll see them turning the wheel from lock to lock for no aparent reason. Just stay away from them in turn 1, you wont see them again.

I don´t know why, but the better I get, the less problems I get with this guys. Now I find easy to know if I´m racing a guy I can trust after a couple of corners watching him.

Understanding psychology in racing will give you a massive advantage over your competitors. With experience, it's easy to determine what sort of players people will be after observing their actions a few times. Racing is an extremely aggressive and mentally-demanding sport, and the fastest way to beat anyone is usually to undermine their confidence. I find that for non-aggressive racers, consistency is your most lethal weapon--when people visibly give it their all to stay ahead of you and see you approaching behind them in spite of this, they eventually become more and more prone to mistakes, as they either get nervous or push too hard. If you're racing a game like Mario Kart, you can also demoralilze even the most aggressive racers with strategic/skillful item use. Sometimes, all it takes is one quickly-deployed, on-target green shell fired in reverse and they'll usually get so frustrated that they compromise their own race through the 'red mist'. On sims, a good blocking move that results in someone going off-track of their own accord typically has the same effect.

It must be a great feeling starting a race knowing you can trust the full grid... console players will never get that I´m afraid.

Console gamers can get that--it's called AI racers.

Good post, and I agree with a lot of your points. I'm still a firm believer in etiquette over aggression when you're racing with strangers, though. If they decide to take it up a notch with impolite racing, I'm always prepared to fight back (especially on Mario Kart ), but it takes too much fun out of it when you/somebody else decides to intentionally race like an idiot (intentionally ramming people off the road), if you ask me. At that point, it's almost as if winning has become too important to you, and you're not racing to enjoy racing anymore.

At that point, it's almost as if winning has become too important to you, and you're not racing to enjoy racing anymore.

Absolutely. I´d enjoy much more a thrilling battle for tenth place than a lonely win without any real competition.

About catching people to make them nervous, I don´t understand why people get anxious when being chased. There´s a certain pleasure in delivering a good defensive move, or even in being passed in a clean move and knowing when to yield.

Had a great race today. Was running with a guy for the whole 3 laps. I had a bad start (one of those glitchey starts were the car doesn't move when the light go out), and while I was already starting last, dropped another 10 seconds. But I caught up because everyone seemed to have an off or two on the course (Silverstone isn't that great of an online track) and caught up with a few guys. Passed them and spent the last 2 and a half laps chasing this guy down for 2nd. Was 5 second in one sector, then 2 the next, then on his bumper for a lap or so, then on the new section I tapped him going through the section hairpin of the complex, and we raced side by side until Brooklands until I managed to get around him on the final corner. At the line we both finished 8.1 seconds behind the winner.

Computer opponents are closer to the real thing than real people? Makes no sense.

It all depends where and/or against who you play. Public servers of any racing game are ought to be horrible but if you run in a league your racing experience will be so much better.

I understand what he is saying, but I like the challenge. F1 2010 was so easy to beat. Spent the summer racing a whole 7 year career in career mode and had a 4 season winning streak in the most difficult settings. Just wasn't very exciting after a point. Didn't have internet access that was good enough for online gaming at the time, otherwise I'd have not done a single career mode race.

It happens most of the time on most racing simulators online. Heck even on things like iRacing or rFactor.

From what I've expirienced, you'll always have people who'll cause problems, you'll always have people don't accept the blame for an obvious collision, but then you also get some great drivers and end up with fantastic dogfights. So ultimately I'm not fussed. In the end I know I'm better than the people causing trouble. If I get involved in a crashfest, then thats too bad, theres plenty of times to try again. Its just a game afterall.

You have to get out of F1 2010 and remember the context of the thread otherwise this whole thing is gonna mean nothing.

It happens on anything I play online... though admittedly as a console player I'm an adult lumped in with kids and teenagers too. Online racing is such a minefield, trying to sift through all the rubbish to find that one room where you can have a decent race.

I find that room hosts are more zealous in defending their 'ideals' on GT5, kicking out those who mess about in pursuit of good racing.DiRT 3 I tend to play more for the leaderboards, thus not encountering other players other than looking at their ghosts or times.

The F1 games are probably the hardest to find a good race (with a large field) though. Crashers etc. eventually get disqualified and leave, and then by your 3rd or 4th race (if you're trying to do a series) you've got a field of about 3.

The F1 games are probably the hardest to find a good race (with a large field) though. Crashers etc. eventually get disqualified and leave, and then by your 3rd or 4th race (if you're trying to do a series) you've got a field of about 3.

By the third race I give up. Or today, someone turned the contact off. And I still got DQ's for dangerous driving at Monaco. Dangerous Driving! How? What? The guy stops at the hairpin, what am I supposed to do in the contactless mode but drive through him?

By the third race I give up. Or today, someone turned the contact off. And I still got DQ's for dangerous driving at Monaco. Dangerous Driving! How? What? The guy stops at the hairpin, what am I supposed to do in the contactless mode but drive through him?

Forza with contact-less racing is fun, but I've found that playing with contact on is a lot of fun if you're playing with people you trust (translation: friends ).

You can't expect console people to follow the F1 rules by the letter and have an etiquette on top of that.

Why not? is it because us console people are somehow lower in intelligence than the PC gamers? Does playing games on a PC give you some kind of an elitist attitude? And for the record, I realize that typically people who play on a PC are likely to be older, and therefore more mature, but don't throw us all into the same bucket as the idiots who ram you off the track at any opportunity.

I have raced with some good people, some bad, its annoying but (unfortunately) part of online gaming.

Why not? is it because us console people are somehow lower in intelligence than the PC gamers? Does playing games on a PC give you some kind of an elitist attitude? And for the record, I realize that typically people who play on a PC are likely to be older, and therefore more mature, but don't throw us all into the same bucket as the idiots who ram you off the track at any opportunity.

I have raced with some good people, some bad, its annoying but (unfortunately) part of online gaming.

As a console gamer as well I find that there is definitely more of an elitist attitude amongst many PC racers. Not anyone on here in particular but in the deeper waters of the internet certainly. It is true that the crashers and kids are predominantly console gamers, but it's not to say that there is a large group of serious racers in the console networks. It's just difficult finding a room with enough of them in!!

F1 games are a minefield because of the popularity of the series and the accessability of the game. Gran Turismo is largely more mature, but it also is subject to the whims of kids and trolls doing things for 'teh lulz'. Well my 'lulz' come from having a good race, banging a few doors fairly, and just enjoying racing against other people.

I think PC gaming is more 'serious' because it's more in the hands of the player to setup races and leagues etc. Most console games' multiplayer has the 'Quick Race' mode that parachutes you straight into a lobby with god-knows-who. Leagues etc. are doable of course, but it's more the norm in PC gaming rather than being an option in console gaming.